Beagles on the hunt for victory
A month ago we were all talking about Uno, the wonderful Beagle who went Best In Show at Westminster. Here’s a look at what Beagles are really all about. Not sitting in lawn chairs (though they like that, too), but hunting rabbits. The World Beagle Field Trials are underway now in Indiana. I wonder if those Beagles are comparing their life to Uno’s? Who knows? Uno may turn up in the field one of these days.
From the Evansville (IN) Courier & Press
Dogs have their day
Beagles on the hunt for victory
By LYDIA X. MCCOY
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7431 or mccoyl@courierpress.com
Friday, March 14, 2008
Chief, owned by Gabe Miskimen of Boonville, Ind., finds a seat in a folding chair before competing in the next stage during the American Rabbit Hunting Association’s World Beagle field trials on Thursday. JASON CLARK / Courier & Press
BOONVILLE, Ind. — Brad Adkins has been training his beagle, Fred, every day for the last six months to get him ready to participate in the American Rabbit Hunting Association’s World Beagle field trials under way at Thresherman’s Park in Boonville.
Adkins of West Liberty, Ky., has participated in the event for about four years, and Fred is a grand champion competitor.
“He’s 10 years old, and he’s still going to kick their butts, let me tell you. They got it coming,” he said with a chuckle. “Everybody always has the joke that he’s out here and he’s got his wheelchair and his oxygen tank and he’s ready to go. Everybody knows what’s coming.”
Adkins said he used to play college basketball and now participates in beagle rabbit hunting competitions.
“I’ve always had dogs growing up, and my grandfather, he raised and trained dogs and I sort of stuck with him,” he said. “He died and passed on, and I guess I kept it going.”
This is Adkins’ fourth time participating in the event and his friend, Danell McKinney’s, first. The two said they enjoy the camaraderie of the event.
The event began in the late 1980s and has grown from 13 beagles to almost 700 competing this week.
“This is the granddaddy of them all. This is the grand hunt,” said Fred Hausmann, board chairman of the Little Pack division of the American Rabbit Hunting Association. “The same people come from 20-something states, and with price of gas like it is, we’re only down four dogs from last year. That shows you the kind of following that we have.”
Hausmann and everyone who spoke about the event said it’s not only a family oriented event — everyone in attendance is family.
“I always tell everybody it’s for the young and the old, the heavy and the fit,” Hausmann said. “If you show up here and go out on a cast and you needed somebody to help you, there’d be somebody to help you. If you wanted to learn the sport, there’d be somebody here to teach you. It’s like a family, that’s all I can say.”
Duane Erwin of Elberfeld, Ind., and one of the founders of the Erie Canal Beagle Club that is hosting this week’s event, said another good part of the week is that they are boosting the economy.
“That’s a big thing I always like to point out,” he said. “People don’t realize that just a beagle hunt like this, how much money that brings into the community. It’s just as big as a soccer tournament in Evansville that brings money in. This does the same thing.”
Mickey Blackburn of West Virginia said his trip will cost him about $500.
“We booked a month a head of time to make sure we’re going to get a room. And we usually stay five nights,” he said.
Blackburn made the trip with his cousin, Eddie Smith, and Smith’s son, Jeremy. Blackburn said he has been rabbit hunting since he was about 8 years old.
“I love it. It’s great. It’s a great pastime, and I love doing this,” he said as he stood at the hill watching one of more than 80 castings. “You meet a lot of neat people, too, from a lot of states. Some really good people, and you get to see some good dogs run. If Indiana lost this (event), the world hunt would be over.”
If you go
What: The American Rabbit Hunting Association’s World Beagle field trials
Sponsored by: Erie Canal Beagle Club
When: Today and Saturday, trials start at 6 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Trials will likely continue into Sunday.
Where: Thresherman’s Park, Boonville, Ind.
Admission: Free. Public is welcome to observe.
The competition is today and Saturday. Trials start at 6 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Trials will likely continue into Sunday.
